Parish News for Sunday 6th April 2008

Third Sunday of Easter

PRIESTS OF THE PARISH
Rev John Doherty PP Tel: 028 7188 2274
Rev Paul Farren Tel: 028 7188 3247

Jesus: life’s compassion
All through life’s day, you walk with us, Lord.
But often we don’t recognise you,
for we are blinded by work and worry,
doubt, confusion and fear,
and so you remain a stranger to us.
Before the day’s end we will find that night is approaching.
In that moment we pray,
that, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus,
our eyes will be opened, and that we will recognise you.
And you will not vanish from our sight,
but stay with us to guide us to the Father’s house.

Eating Together

Family mealtime is a disappearing reality in many homes. Sitting down together at table is becoming increasingly rare. Even Sunday is under threat. Individual members come to ‘graze’ at the fridge, while the growing number of those who live alone lack motivation even to cook.

In everything we lose sight of the simplicity and importance of the community meal. Meals themselves are a time of utmost importance, for bodily nourishment and for all it signifies. It is a place and a time where our deeper hungers find satisfaction. The stories, the bantering, the remarks about the cooking, the serving and passing of food, the arguments, the broken diets and the sharing of the last piece of cake all give the same message to my hungry heart: that I belong to this people, that this is my home.

Emmaus – another meal, another place, but the same reality. Another table where life’s needy travellers gather to share human bread. Emmaus, where ‘their eyes were kept from recognising him’ [v.16]. Do we recognise Jesus in each other? Like Emmaus, our human tables can be a road of companionship, conversation, belief and renewed hope.

Last week’s Collection was £1,623.00. Many thanks.

Gift Aid Scheme – A Reminder
If you are paying tax you may wish to join our Gift Aid Scheme – at no extra cost to you. If interested please contact the parish office [028] 71882272.

Sick and Housebound
The sick and infirm will be attended on the morning and afternoon of Tuesday 8th April.

The next Pioneer Meeting will take place tomorrow [Monday] at 8.00pm, followed directly by a meeting of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Alzheimer’s Society - Annual Open Meeting
The meeting will take place on Thursday 10th April at 7.30pm in The White Horse Hotel, Campsie Suite, 68 Clooney Road, Derry. Guest speaker: Mairead Buckley [NI Court Service] who will be speaking on ‘The Role of The Office of Care and Protection’. Everyone is welcome.

It’s April!
April time means digging, sowing and planting. It’s a time of hope, a time of faith in the future – in a colourful summer and a fruitful autumn before the return of bare winter.
We Irish have always been conscious of the closeness of the Lord to us in the elements of creation and through the things of nature.
This insight is expressed in the beautiful words of the hymn Ag Criost an Siol. In translation it reads:

‘Christ’s is the sowing, Christ’s is the fall,
Into God’s barn may he gather us all.
Christ’s is the waters, and the fish of the sea;
Taken in God’s net may we be.
From youth to age and to death until
Thy hands, O Christ, be about us still;
At the end of life, when life will begin,
In God’s Paradise may we rejoin.’

Thornhill Centre, Derry
Poetry Evenings – ‘Sensing the Sacred’ – Mary Murphy will lead a three-session workshop, leisurely exploring some of the longer poems in the Irish output, beginning with Patrick Kavanagh’s ‘The Greatest hunger’. Dates: Wednesdays 9/16/23 April. Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm. Cost £5 per night. Telephone 71351233

Owen Roe O’Neill’s G.A.C.

The closing date for payment of Adult and Youth membership has now passed. We would urge all members to please get their fees paid up for 2008 this week by either contacting Sean Devine, Joe Hegarty or paying at the Clubrooms during opening hours. Sunday 6th April – ACL Div 3: Owen Roes v Castlederg. Wednesday 9th April meeting in the Clubrooms at 8.00pm for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations in July 2009 of St. Joseph’s Primary School, Glenmornan. All past pupils are welcome to attend. Monday 14th April – Full Committee Meeting at 8.00pm. For all training sessions please see local press or check the website at www.owenroe-leckpatrick.ie